Students in the Spotlight: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region

Jake Adkins

Graduating Year: 2021

Education: Mathematics and Statistics Double Major, minor in Computer Science

Career: Data Standard Analyst at Medpace, Inc

“Be involved in as many things as possible while at NKU, specifically within the department your major is in. College is so much more than just going to class and going home. Do summer research, apply for internships and ask the faculty members questions not only about classes but about the opportunities offered in the department! These things, along with your degree, will stand out most to employers when you put them on your resumé.”

What they do: I organize clinical trial data in SAS based on the specific Table, Figure or Listing being created and create the output in forms such as RTF’s, PDF’s, Excel Files, etc. I also double program (known as QC Programming) other people’s Tables, Figures and Listings using PROC Compare and other SAS functions.

Necessary job skills: SAS Programming, problem solving, code debugging, working with a team, checking for data issues electronically (double programming) and manually

Career path: At Medpace, I originally was a Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM) and Edits Programmer. I have since transitioned into a new “experimental” role that Medpace rolled out in early 2022 where I do Tables, Figures and Listings (TFLs) Programming. I did SDTM programming for roughly a year and have been doing the TFL programming for about a year now as well!

Abdikani Ali

Graduating Year: 2023

Education: Mathematics and Statistics Double Major

Career: Actuarial Analyst at Aetna (a CVS Health Compan)

“My advice to future and current math/stats majors is to be courageous and explore outside of class. Try to do as many different internships as possible to have an informed decision on what you would like to pursue.”

Matt Henn

Graduating Year: 2023

Education: Statistics Major, Computer Science Minor

Career: Actuarial Analyst at Western & Southern Financial Group

"I think the best thing about the math/stat department has been the ability to prep students for their careers post-graduation. There are plenty of undergraduate research opportunities for us to get more valuable experience than we would from just the classroom, the rigor of classes better prepared me for my career, especially actuarial exams."

Advice to future students: My best advice is to not be in a hurry. I had the opportunity to graduate early, but I think my best choice was to hold off on graduating after the full 4 years. If you worked hard to earn scholarships, it is important to make the most of it and attend all 4 years, regardless of how much you can get done in 3 or 3.5 years. I 'll be graduating with a major in stats and a minor in CS, but in addition, I completed my VEE credits, which required about 30 credit hours of accounting, finance, and econ courses in addition to the 30 to get the CS minor. Also, I am confident that I was able to develop more skills and pass more exams than I would have been able to while working. As much as I may want to graduate now, I don't regret not graduating early!

Memorable experience: The most memorable experience was definitely the summer research project I participated in with Hanna, Conner, MK, Bijay, and Rachel. The project helped me to secure my internship and develop more practical skills based on what I'd already learned in the classroom. It also helped me get to know most of my fellow math/stat majors.

Parker Kain

Graduating Year: 2019

Education: Statistics and Data Science Double Major

Career: Senior Data Scientist at 84.51˚

"The Math and Stats Department was by far my favorite slice of campus. The professors were caring and knowledgeable, the coursework was relevant and challenging, and the culture in the department was second to none! Whether it was getting a group together to ask a professor questions before an exam, or doing sudoku races on the whiteboard, NKU felt like home to me because of the Math and Stats Department!"

What they do: 84.51˚ is owned by Kroger, and thus most of my job is helping Kroger make better decisions with the wealth of data they have access to. Data Scientists at 84.51˚ have a wide variety of technical skills, but I am more on the technical side, serving as a programmer and building solutions that use data. Specifically, I spend most of my time programming in Python, turning prototypes developed by other Data Scientists and Researchers into long term, stable codebases that we can use to automate and improve decision making! Think anything from coupons, store layouts, supply chain, pricing, ecommerce, and everything in between, we help to make these process better for Kroger and the Kroger customer!

Necessary job skills: Like I mentioned, data scientists have a wide range of skillsets. At a base level, most data scientists can program in either R or Python, and can use these to slice and dice data. In addition, data scientists have good business intuition and quantitative reasoning skills to help analyze and tease out important details in our data! From there, most data scientists specialize in one way or another, some focusing on statistics and machine learning, others focusing on data visualization and storytelling, and others focusing on automation and scaling our work. Depending on the route you choose, you might want to focus your skills into tools like PowerBI or Tableau for visualization, Machine Learning techniques and methodologies, or things like git, advanced python, or cloud computing. Oftentimes for someone joining the company out of college, you’ll start with the basics, and discover your passion and interests as you develop within the company! For those basics, I’d highly recommend statistics, data wrangling in R or Python (Python if you can’t decide), and some data visualization!

Career Path: I interned at 84.51˚ while at NKU, and it is the only place I’ve worked full time. I started in our grad program, which provides recent college graduates a chance to learn and see different roles around the business. At the end of that, I was placed onto our pricing team, which helps Kroger make better pricing and promotion decisions! I stayed on that team for about 2.5 years, and just moved over to our R&D team called Labs in the Fall of 2022, where I am now working on more long term and innovative projects for 84.51˚ and Kroger.

Faith Mathew

Graduating Year: 2024

Education: Engineering Physics Major, Mathematics Minor

In what ways do you believe your mathematics minor will support your career plans after graduating from NKU?

"The reason I chose to minor in Mathematics was because I've always enjoyed the idea of solving problems. I think I'm learning to enjoy this even more because of my minor- this will most definitely help me in my career plans as I'm going into the engineering field, and problem-solving is a huge part of it. The connections I've made with my wonderful peers and faculty will also have an impact on my career plans!"

Have you been involved in any undergraduate experiences that utilized the knowledge you’ve learned in your mathematics coursework?  

"I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Long and Dr. Wilkinson (mathematics faculty members) and other students on a research project that aimed to improve traditional hearing testing and hearing aids. This was done by using calculus-based concepts like Simpson's rule to better visualize the cochlea by obtaining more data points than a traditional hearing test."

Dezy Owens

Graduating Year: 2023

Education: Mathematics Major, Educational Studies Focus

Career: High School Math Teacher at Ryle High School

"I really enjoy all the different events and things that the math department does. I appreciate that they try to get students in the program together to meet each other and professors and faculty to meet us as we will be learning and working alongside each other throughout our college experience."

Bijay Rimal

Graduating Year: 2023

Education: Mathematics and Statistics Double Major, Computer Science Minor

Career: Data Analyst at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

"Two things stand out when I think about my favorite things about the Math department. The small close-knit department feels like a family. The opportunities that we can get from Research experience as early as freshman year, tutoring, and the Burkardt Consulting Center where we can get real-world experience."

Hanna Schmitt

Graduating Year: 2023

Education: Mathematics and Statistics Double Major, Computer Science Minor, Focus in German

Career: Digital Technology Leadership Program at GE Aerospace

"Try as many things as you can, it's worth it! While you're at NKU, take extra math/stat classes, go on industry visits, try an internship, do research, go to the career fairs. College is the time to explore what fields and applications of math/stat you are interested in pursuing. No one will penalize you for not liking something and employers will appreciate your initiative."

Memorable Experiences: There are so many, it's hard to just pick one. I really want to shout out Dr. Wilkinson for being my faculty mentor for my URSTEM project after my freshmen year. I credit that experience as the motivating factor in getting me to think beyond calc and stretch my skills so early on. Our project was an amazing opportunity and lead me to so many other amazing opportunities through my 4 years. I will always cherish the art and 3D prints we made.

Department Reflection: My favorite thing about the department is that it feels like a big family. Being able to walk down the hallway and having faculty say hi and check in, and knowing they really care, makes the department feel like home.

Men Tran

Graduating Year: 2023

Education: Biological Sciences Major, Chemistry Minor, Applied Statistics Minor

In what ways do you believe your Applied Statistics minor will compliment your Biology major?

I believe that a minor in statistics complements a biology major by enhancing skills in data analysis, experimental design, and biostatistics. It enables effective analysis and interpretation of biological data, aids in designing experiments, and provides knowledge of statistical methods specific to biology. The combination of a biology major with a statistics minor will open up research opportunities and increase competitiveness in the field of biological research. Especially for those who are pursuing a career in research, a strong statistical background would be a total advantage.

Have you been involved in any undergraduate experiences that utilized the knowledge you’ve learned in your statistics coursework?  

I believe that a minor in statistics complements a biology major by enhancing skills in data analysis, experimental design, and biostatistics. It enables effective analysis and interpretation of biological data, aids in designing experiments, and provides knowledge of statistical methods specific to biology. The combination of a biology major with a statistics minor will open up research opportunities and increase competitiveness in the field of biological research. Especially for those who are pursuing a career in research, a strong statistical background would be a total advantage.